Full Metal Alchemist: Parapsychology
by Viburnum
Summary: POST MOVIEThe brothers find a man, Apollo, who can do alchemy on Earth! Ed realizes that Apollo can manipulate the Gate Of Truth and knows of its origins. MeanwhileWinry learns alchemy tosee Ed and Al again


**Disclaimer:** I don't own original FMA. All I own is this fanfic story.

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**Full Metal Alchemist: Parapsychology  
I  
Where do we belong?**

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_Transmutation, the key to alchemy; however, is it – the key to life_? She thought as she drew the circle_, No, maybe, it isn't_, the array was complete, _But_ – _I know in this world it means a lot_. 

Before she could think further her hand stretched towards the sky – unknowingly, this was something Edward had done twice in the other world – then her fingers delicately joined themselves as she transmuted the sand. Memories came soaring through her mind as the bits of clayey sand were shaped to be a doll.

_The first thing they ever made me_ – she thought with a hint of sadness, however, the voice of her master descended upon her and her sadness was thrown away.

' Good job Winry.' A beautiful woman applauded her success, ' The doll is so pretty. Can I have it?'

' Yes sure Nanako.' She handed the d0ll to her tutor, ' Sorry, I know I know these alchemic basics already but – today, I was thinking about, something. It made me wanna do this I – I mean, something sentimental.' She rubbed her head, ' Sorry, I know I shouldn't be really wasting time.'

' But Winry,' Nanako started, ' You do this ever year on February the third and that other day and even on your birthday. Today, is the third of February, I believe today is the day Edward Elric turns twenty-three.' She smiled, ' Do you ever wonder how he is doing on the other side?'

' Constantly,' she muttered, ' Actually, it is vague. I don't think about it too much anymore. The reason is that I realized that maybe I moved on with my life. Also, Ed and Al can take care of themselves. They were always matured at that, but, on certain days I do feel sad. They are always going to be my best friends.'

' That's true,' Nanako smiled more widely and tapped Winry's shoulder playfully, ' You know I baked a chocolate cake. In honor for Ed's birthday, I believe after lessons we should eat it with our supper. C'mon Winry, it's almost dusk, I need to teach you more advanced arrays so you can perform more advanced alchemy.'

' Oh,' Winry touched her forehead, getting tired but feigning a more dire headache, ' Those arrays are so prettily designed is as if Alchemy is like a substitute for diamonds and gold. Dammit, I rather wear the designs than draw 'em.'

' Come along Winry nor else I will eat the cake by myself.' Nanako gave a sinister grin that frustrated Winry.

' You wouldn't!' Winry looked somewhat annoyed but gave a nervous smile.

' Come Winry! Let's go!' she ran off with her pupil followed her.

Winry recalled how she had changed. She was still an automail prodigy, however, now one seeing the Flamel stitched to the side of her purplish-blue jacket would say she was an alchemist. Winry was an alchemist. After Edward and Alphonse had vanished to the mysterious other world she decided to learn their passion. It was also the foundation of the strong woman she admired, Izumi Curtis. She longed to achieve what they have achieved. She was dressed as Izumi was – her white dress tightly fit around her body and the slack-like pants adorned her legs. Though, her hair was in a ponytail and she wore knee-length leather black boots with no alchemic symbol tattooed to her breast. That symbol adored the left shoulder of her jacket, which was actually the one that Izumi wore, given to her by Sig as a gift.

The woman who taught her alchemy was Nanako Prinx. A half-eastern woman with Ishbalan ancestry; she had one emerald eye and one cerulean eye and her skin was beautifully bronze as her Ishbalan heritage influence. Her hair was black but Winry noticed that it had silver streaks. Though she may seem gothic she was a ethereal woman. Wherever she went men would stare at her numerous times. She seemed stronger, more versatile than Izumi. Winry felt very nervous around her because she was strong and she felt feeble. Truthfully, she was surprised the day she saw Nanako near Izumi's grave staring solemnly and crying silently. She remembered asking the unknown woman if she knew Izumi. Nanako had replied that she was Izumi's best friend ever since they were children. She knew all that happened because before Izumi died she had written long letters to Nanako depicting what had happened in her life and the lives of her students. Izumi would have written her sooner only she thought Nanako had died when they were both seventeen. Sig had torn out any suspicions that Winry could have had on the unknown woman. He had met Nanako many times when he was still wooing and clarified the story that Izumi had only recently found out that Nanako was still alive.

' Where you in an accident?' Winry had asked Nanako.

' Yes, a bad one – let's just say someone I knew tried to kill me.' Nanako slowly, muttered.

' I'm sorry.' Winry felt bad asking her about such an emotional subject.

' Do me a favor,' Nanako smiled, ' Please could you not tell this to Sig? That someone tried to kill me.'

' What? – you mean Izumi and her husband doesn't know?' Winry was shocked.

' They know I had an accident and people who thought I was dead said it was an alchemic explosion. They lied because I had some weird wounds that they could not explain. I did not lie to you because you have requested me to teach you alchemy; I have accepted your request. That is why I believe between us there should no superficial secrecy. Only I cannot reveal my wounds to you yet, please forgive me, when the time is right I'll tell you.'

' Madam, I am honored by the fact you have shared with me your truth and I humbly will respect your privacy.' Winry bowed, ' I am honored to be your student.'

That is how it had begun. Winry confided many of her deep emotions to Nanako and Nanako told her many things about her life. However, the only deep emotions she concealed were that with the wounds. Winry began to recognize it as a deep scar in her past. That is because Nanako knew a lot about the gate of truth and the other world. She had certain texts vaguely discussing such theories – most of them were, as Winry realized, Alchemic books of Ishbal. She realized The Great Arcanum of Ishbal explored many aspects that Alchemy had not. Nanako had explained that there were people of yore who had tried to substantiate the theory of the other world. Some of these books, she had mentioned, belonged to an ancestor of hers – who she had heard was one of the earliest practitioners to Alchemy. Winry was awed by her knowledge and she was curious. Yet, she couldn't be suspicious of her teacher; something about Nanako Prinx made it easy for her to be trustable.

_Can she ever have tried the human transmutation?_ Winry bit into the cake and thought_, Many sensible people perform senseless – Ed, Al and Miss Izumi – even me – the curse of being a prodigy is that you want to try horribly zany things. I may not be a prodigy but Grandma says I am. I once remember fitted my doll with automail and making it move with strings as a puppet, Grandma got rid of it when it scarred my puppy's arms breaking it. I accidentally broke my puppy's arm so now he wears an automail. He seems to have forgiven me though._

' One day, I know, you'll meet them again.' Nanako commented while slicing her cake with the fork.

' Huh- what Miss Prinx?' she had an habit of shifting through formal and casual names when she referred to her teacher.

' Ed and Al – you will see them again, or, are you thinking about something else?' she stared at her pupil taking a quite bite of her chocolate cake.

' Yes, I'm thinking of something to Ed and Al – and Sloth.' She confessed as she stopped cutting her cake.

' Sloth – the homunculus, I feel bad for those soulless dolls: Mere marionettes to the lusts of anyone who can control them – In this case Dante. I believe it is good that they can die once more,' Nanako twirled her glass that held grape juice and saw the swirling liquid, ' For what is living when you cannot be your master entirely. It is only God who we should be slaves to, only our parents and friends whose words we should respect, helpful strangers can be abided. Yet the one who wishes to control us is any animal's natural foe. The dog will always bite the butcher who tries to make him leave by the stick.'

' I agree.' Winry stared at her food, then she suddenly looked at Nanako, ' You said "In This case Dante" have there been other controllers of Homunculi aside her?'

' Well, yes Winry there has been – some very old yet valuable Great Arcanum books passed through my family had told me about Homunculi. The people who created them before saw them deformed and incomplete – a failed transmutation. Yet, by stealing organs from the dead or by feeding incomplete philosopher's stones to the transmutation you can create the homunculi. But, stealing organs and then making the organic array to deliver the lost structures to the failed transmutations is very difficult but feeding the incomplete stones is a much better process. People came to know they were soulless when they realized that they did need to eat however it was only via more organ transfers or incomplete stone eating did they remain stable. As they only have vestiges of the soul they cannot support their own body. Researchers came to know that the soul is sensitive to the life and death equation but as the Homunculi are only soulless bodies they cannot accept death and life the normal way.' All the time Nanako twirled her glass and focused on the swirling purplish-red liquid.

' Nanako, has there ever been a successful human transmutation?' Winry oddly asked the question. She knew there wasn't any but she was curious.

' Yes, Winry – there has been.' She twirled her glass languidly.

Winry immediately dropped her fork to the floor, she quietly, hypnotized completely, spoke, ' You mean there have been people who were successful in bringing back their loved ones or anyone back from the dead?' she stared with eyes wide as if they were skull-hollow sockets.

' I don't know much about it but I have a book that tells about it. The successful human transmutation doesn't need organ transfer or incomplete red stones to keep it stable.'

' That is because it's soul has come back.'

' No Winry.' She twirled the glass.

' Then how -?'

' It either shares the soul of the one who created it. However, it is still a soulless body with no normal sensitivity to life and death. It is dangerous than Homunculi as it remembers where it comes from and maybe it can still perform alchemy as it remembers the gate of truth. It is called a Sepultavi – a statement in Latin meaning "I have buried" meaning it has buried itself in sin for it knows it is an abnormality to the world.'

' How do you know this?' Winry almost demanded. She was growing nervous at her teacher's range of knowledge.

' I haven't created none if that's what you fear.' She still looked at the juice that fed Winry's discomfort.

' How do I know you did or didn't?' Winry's eyes narrowed. The sudden suspicion of her teacher which she thought was lost had come again.

Nanako looked at her scared and disturbed student and put down her glass, then she asked, ' Where do we belong?'

' Uh – what?' Winry looked confused now.

' Where do you think we belong, Winry?' she asserted the question again.

' Any place we are happy in.' Winry answered.

' No Winry, I mean spiritually, essentially, do you know where we belong?' Nanako asked her with a delicate force.

' I'm not sure.' Winry looked at her.

' I believe we belong in life and death, in memory and in afterlife. We belong in unlimited endowed talents and also within limited spheres. A homunculus or a Sepultavi tries to gain what we call "the human condition". This is because its body always fails it – it can never be happy because it has no gravity to govern it. No matter how damned or flawed we humans are we experience an automated system of co-existence and existence that is hereditary in our soul through God's design. A marionette loses this design and thus strives most horribly in its own needs. Seeing that I have suffered terrible wounds I learned my place. It is God's duty to create a soul. If I suffer so badly by mere wounds realize the suffering of those without souls for they have no true influence of conscience or instincts to direct them. They are hapless beings. I rather die a million deaths and then be carried off to hell than to see the wretched existence of a soulless body.'

Moments passed and Winry realized her teacher's authenticity to the matter. She felt ashamed at her subtle accusations, ' I'm sorry Teacher. I should've trusted you more. I'm –'

' You're right though.' She smiled through cutting Winry's sorrow, ' We do belong to the happy place but it must never destroy our soul. The destruction of our soul will only lead to the death of our living spirit in the end. You know I do believe you will see Ed and Al again, seeing that they mend and brighten your soul.' She lifted her glass, ' Happy Birthday to Edward Elric.'

Winry lifted hers, ' Happy Birthday to Edward Elric.'

They cheered and drank the juice, ate more of the chocolate cake. Winry in between her bites knew what Nanako was right, _I'll pray to God that I will see your faces again, But now, I'll enjoy the_ _fact you are twenty-three today: Happy Birthday Ed._

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**Author's Notes:** Ok, Tell me what you think. Please Read and Review your comments – also, you know the part of Winry's feelings for Ed and Al's departure and how she moved on; it was inspired by the Wikipedia article on Winry. Yes, and the Prinx in Nanako's name is pronounced as Prince. Anyway I'll update if you guys want me too.

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